India's batting maestro Virat Kohli is leaving no stone unturned in his preparation to face New Zealand in the World Cup 2023's semifinal. On Friday, November 10, during Team India's optional nets session, Kohli focused on polishing his skills against short-pitched bowling and left-arm spin, two areas where he could be tested by New Zealand.
A crucial aspect of India's strategy will likely involve Lockie Ferguson's express pace bowling. Although Ferguson has been dealing with a right Achilles niggle, his recent performance against Sri Lanka at the Chinnaswamy Stadium yet again proved his capability to rattle batsmen with short-pitched deliveries. Notably, Ferguson pinged Maheesh Theekshana on his hands, leaving him in utter pain which persisted for a few minutes. This proved the threat he can pose on opponent team's batters.
Meanwhile, Kohli is known for his strong pull shot, but he is also aware of the dangers of short-pitched bowling, so he spent time in the nets practicing against bouncers from Shardul Thakur and the side-arm specialists. He had little difficulty in smoking several of them away, some shots traveling as far as the second tier. Kohli also attempted a couple of ramp shots, which could prove handy against a bowler like Ferguson.
Another challenge that Kohli could face in the semifinals is Mitchell Santner's left-arm spin. Kohli does not have a great record against left-arm spinners, and he has often gotten into tangles against them in the past. Left-armers like Keshav Maharaj, Shakib Al Hasan, and Dunith Wellalage have all had success against Kohli.
Santner has been New Zealand's best bowler at the World Cup so far, and he is likely to play a key role in the semifinals. He has consistently hit the right length to keep the batters largely silent, and he has picked up 16 wickets from nine matches with a fine economy of 4.6.
Kohli averages just 9.33 against Santner across 17 matches, and he has been dismissed three times. Even if one takes recent numbers, Kohli's struggle against left-arm spinners is quite evident. Since January 2021, Kohli averages just over 13 against them and his strike-rate dwindles to 66.
It is therefore no surprise that Kohli spent time in the nets perfecting his craft against left-arm spin, facing Ravindra Jadeja. Jadeja managed to elicit a couple of false shots from Kohli, but it was clear that the Indian star is already thinking about the challenges he might face against New Zealand in the semifinals.
Meanwhile, all Indian players except Ishan Kishan attended the optional practice session. Interestingly, India's pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah tried his hand at spin bowling, while head coach Rahul Dravid bowled side-arm.
WITH PTI INPUTS
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